" i would also like to know. is it just me or has she been more... " feral? psychotic? he had to think of a better word. " overwhelmed. "

"     dude.     "     it's like yuki can see the gears turning in hasan's mind.  he shrugs and pulls out his phone.     "     she's fine,  i think  ?  i can call her down here right now if you want to have a face-to-face,  but don't you have her number  ?  was there a fight  ?  i need to know these things     "     no,  no he doesn't.  he's just nosy.

crossing their legs underneath themself, hajoon leans against the back of the couch, shifting so that they are facing yuki as they eat. a teasing groan leaves their ( still not empty ) mouth and they speak once they have swallowed their bite down. "i would like to remind you how we used to eat ramen from a pot on your floor — and that one time we cracked the egg over the floor instead of the pot." and hajoon was half sure the five-second rule could apply. a grimace shifts over their expression at the string of terrible tasks they despise with every inch of their being. in hajoon's brief dip into corporate life, all of those things used to be the bane of their existence — and the reason they never wanted any more responsibility after that. "i know that was a meme, but we should really code a meeting disclaimer, where the cost of meeting shows up proportional to how much an hour of the attendees' times cost. then- people won't be so trigger-happy with them." technically, it would be a breach of gdpr or whatever, but, at the end of the day, they had good lawyers. "or you can just ask me to cancel them, so you won't have that on your conscience." another attempt at a joke, anything to mask how they are getting more and more worried at these answers. 'the usual' from yuki, spells nothing good to hajoon, neither is the way he is making no eye contact. a plethora of questions and offerings for help cross their mind, and they try to pick the best one when the question comes. "i'm not sure yet — i heard french riviera is really nice this time of the year." they let the words linger, digging into the container with the chopsticks, but not grabbing any. "is there still no way you could take a couple of days off?" something more hopeful in hajoon's voice, despite how they can assume a negative answer. "we could go somewhere else you'd like to go as well. just for a weekend getaway. forget the carbon emissions, we'll fly commercial."

          he remembers the time they speak about like it was just yesterday.  nostalgia crawls its way into his chest and aches between his ribs.  things used to be easier  —  simpler.  sure he was losing his fucking mind at a dead end retail job while attempting to corral randomly assigned group members to create a mediocre project for a grade that never really mattered,  but at least he was having fun.  when was the last time that happened?           yuki eats silently,  ravenously,  and continues to pick at the bits remaining at the bottom of the takeout container with his chopsticks once he's done.  if he wanted someone to manage his meetings,  he'd have an assistant.  really,  he should have one,  but with each passing day he feels app-h slip further out of his hands,  and an administrative assistant would only accelerate the process.     "french riviera,"  he echoes,  thinking.  he's never been,  but he also has never cared for yachting or the vast waters anyway.  he sets the container,  now devoid of food,  on the coffee table as his phone beeps with yet another notification.  with an exaggerated sigh,  he digs the device out of his pocket and swipes through notification after notification.  text messages and meeting invitations and reminders and emails and distraction after distraction.             the thing is,  he could very easily take a couple days off.  hell,  he could take a month off if he really wanted to.  app-h would function just fine without him  —  yuki has that much trust in his co-workers.  but that's the hard pill to swallow,  the fact that he can leave and things would continue chugging along as they have been.  imposter's syndrome is new and uncomfortable so yuki does what he's good at and buries it so far back in his brain that he can't even string that thought together.  maybe he's completely lost it or maybe the hopeful tone in hajoon's voice is pulling at his heart strings,  because yuki hands his unlocked phone over to them.  rarely does his phone ever leave his side and never does he let someone else go through it.     "if you can find time on my calendar,  we can go to the moon for all i care."     at this point,  even staying home is vacation enough.     "cancel whatever.  you just have to promise you're coming with me."

it's almost like a reflex for them to do a quick check to see how yuki has been faring. if there are any dark circles under his eyes, and whether he has been burning the midnight oil for way too many nights as he tends to do. after they close the door behind him, they try to pick up on these small signs to figure out the severity of the situation. despite these intentions, there is a particular attempt to not to let any of it show as they grin wide at the question. "of course it's for us! who am i, the late bulletin corp ceo, making you slave away on an empty stomach?" hajoon picks up the rest of the containers, and two pairs of chopsticks before they both head to the main living area. pushing most of the paperwork away, they set the containers in the middle, and begin opening up the lids. there are a couple of side dishes that are meant for them to share, and they hold out a pair of chopsticks to yuki. "these have been waiting for a few weeks and- apparently i need to fill them out soon. my account manager keeps haunting me about what to do with those shares we bought years ago. but — we can figure it out later. let's eat first." they begin to dig in, and then speak through a half-mouthful of food. "what've you been up to? anythin' exciting?"

          he sinks into the couch,  exhaustion threatening to overtake him as he becomes comfortable.  yuki is running on the raw strength of two power naps,  several red bulls, and a reserve of energy he barely conjured up for this.  while he typically doesn't find it very difficult to feel enthusiastic when he's with friends,  he has to force it a bit now.  not hajoon's fault at all — it's him,  him and his head.           "gross,  chew before you speak,"     he says jokingly,  mouth half full.  dreaded question.  yuki takes his time with a few bites,  stalling.     "not really.  meetings.  emails.  meetings that could have been emails and convoluted email threads that should have been meetings.  trying to figure out milestones for the next quarter."     unsaid:  staring up at the broken ceiling light in his office as he tries to fall asleep on the pull-out couch,  sending phone calls from his parents to voicemail,  chugging coffee after energy drink after coffee.     "the usual."     he shrugs,  the picture of casual as he slouches over and tries to eat without spilling food.  yuki reaches for some of the paperwork with one hand,  squinting at the small font as he scans over it,  anything's better than making eye contact that'll surely betray him.     "do you have anything planned for the summer?  bali again?"     yuki can't remember the last time he went on a proper vacation.  visits back home rarely count,  not when it's as stressful seeing his parents as it is running a company,  and he's already been explicitly told that meetings and conferences in different countries don't count as time off.  he supposes there was his honeymoon,  though it was cut short by virtue of an app-h emergency. he admires the boundaries hajoon keeps, the lines they contain work in. there was a time he'd ask them to reconsider a c-suite position, though that has long passed.

while it might not be as easy to notice to someone else, hajoon has known yuki for a decade now, which means they know very well how he usually texts. in the last couple of days, every single text message has felt off, from the speed at which he has answered them, to the correct capitalizations, and the emojis that were not his style at all. so many boomer emojis, and none of them used ironically either. and again, these small details could not mean much to someone else — but it makes hajoon all the more sure that something is wrong. and knowing yuki is also not going to give them a straight answer very easily, they decide on a white lie. completely harmless, and somewhat true. after all, there is a stack of contracts on their coffee table, and they don't trust anyone else with this. when the telltale ringing of the door comes after the doorman notices hajoon of his arrival, they are quick to jump to their feet. it doesn't take them long before they swing the door open with a grateful grin, and open it wide so yuki can enter. "yuki! thank you for coming — i had no idea what to do with all of this confidential paperwork —- and the bank is breathing down my neck." the fact that there is takeout bought and ready on the counter has little to do with the paperwork itself, but hajoon doesn't think yuki will resist, not when it is his favorite.

for all that he is attached to his devices,  he's been all too distant from his phone the past few days.  most messages that had little to do with work went ignored,  only the ones from the founders receiving an absently typed answer now and then.  it's hajoon's request which gets an instant affirmative response,  the one that gets him to power off his computer and lock his office door behind him.  in the past weeks, yuki's seen the inside of hajoon's penthouse more than he's seen his own  (  not a terribly difficult achievement when he spends nights in his office and not the place he owns  —  in a way,  app-h is a home for him,  just not in an entirely healthy way  ).  he doesn't realize how hungry he is until he steps in,  the scent of food hasting his greeting.    "hey.  is that for us?"     yuki manages a half-hearted grin as he pats hajoon's shoulder and makes his way to the counter,  grabbing one of the containers without waiting for an answer.     "why're you worried about paperwork on a friday night?"     not that he isn't going to help — of course he will.

" my sister isn't here, right? " he asks to make sure despite there being no signs of her.

"     yes.  no.     "     yuki steps out from behind his standing desk (one of the rare times that he's using the standing functionality) and approaches, shrugging.     "     i don't think i'm legally allowed to say.     "     wrong!  literally nothing is holding him to that.     "     why  ?  what's going on  ?     "

" we should come up with something new. buying ideas from other people is... uninspiring. i feel like we're where creativity has come to die. " she was mainly speaking for herself but it didn't remove the fact that after photograpp-h, the four of them hadn't exactly invented anything new. " at least i'm scared of complacency. "

          he doesn't like admitting that part of the reason yuki hasn't been inclined to push for something brand new has been that he's worried they won't manage to replicate the success they had a decade prior.  easy solution:  don't admit it at all.     "     it's reinventing,     "     yuki says in an attempt to rephrase her concerns of lack of creativity.     "     there is nothing wrong with taking what's out there and making it better,  more appealing for consumers.    "     even he doesn't quite believe what he's saying. — @bravc

" granola is not food... " she was whining now. " it's a rebranded cookie, but somehow more disappointing. " it was for desperate times and feyza was relatively positive that she would pick her own fridge over surviving on a granola bar. " half of a kit-kat ? consider my interest piqued. " it was a well-known fact that sparsity created the best flavour ! " i'll message you if i decide to make a run for it. do you have a lot people to meet ? i don't know if i should try to be a social butterfly and talk to new people. i'm just scared i won't find a good conversation topic. "

          "     do you consume it  ?  does it give you energy  ?  then it is food.     "     says the person who is probably 50% miscellaneous energy bars and 50% varying celcius flavors.  he can't exactly blame her disappointment of the granola bar — he sure as hell wouldn't eat it, especially not when it's a little deformed from being transferred between bags and pockets as an emergency snack for who knows how long.  yuki opens the wrapper of the kit-kat and snaps it in half down the middle, passing one piece to feyza.     "     i always have a lot of people to meet.     "     yuki isn't lamenting,  just stating a fact.     "     if you want a topic that will always work,  ask people about themselves.     "     he gestures around the room with his half of the chocolate.     "     every single person here wants nothing more than to talk about their life story to anyone that asks.  why do you think these speeches take so long  ?     "

" please tell me i missed the award announcements. " she spent the last thirty minutes vaping outside. she didn't care to pretend to be happy for the bulletin another year. she swears these events only happen for them.

          "     no worries!     "     yuki taps on his phone screen a few times, then waits to hear the ping from suvi's.     "     just sent you a dm with a video link for your on-demand needs.     "     cue shit eating smile that dissolves into something more genuine.     "     you know these awards don't mean anything,  yeah  ?  yet another vain accolade to pad already over-inflated wikipedia pages.    "

she was sad to put down her dessert spoon. she had never learnt how to appreciate high cuisine and its tiny tiny tiny portions. they always left you wanting more ! " do they usually serve late night snacks ? since there's drinks and everything, it'd look cheap not to have some food, right ? "

          "     eh. it's a fifty-fifty. chances are that the food sucks. i have a back-up granola bar.     "     they pat down the pockets of their trousers     (     aside:  formal clothing?  overrated.  this is a special kind of torture     )     and brandish not only the proclaimed granola bar,  but also a partially melted kit-kat.     "     take it or leave it  —  but the best i'll do with the kit-kat is half.  we can always have our own after party on all the food and drink you can want once this is done.     "